Finding optimum combined plans among multiple sharing arrangements and multiple data sources and consumers

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for data sharing include merging sharing plans of admissible sharing arrangements to provide a merged sharing plan. A set of all possible plumbings are determined for the merged sharing plan. A plumbing with a maximum profit is iteratively applied, using a processor, to the merged sharing plan for each plumbing of the set such that a staleness level is maintained to provide an optimized sharing plan.

RELATED APPLICATION INFORMATION

This application claims priority to provisional application Ser. No. 61/554,157 filed on Nov. 1, 2011, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

This application is related to commonly assigned U.S. application Ser. No. ______, entitled “GENERATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF DATA SHARING AMONG MULTIPLE DATA SOURCES AND CONSUMERS,” Attorney Docket Number 11067A (449-255), filed concurrently herewith, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to data sharing and, more specifically, to the generation and optimization of data sharing among multiple data sources and consumers.

2. Description of the Related Art

The ability to share data among a number of different applications is a desired feature for businesses for many reasons, such as increased organizational efficiency, targeted advertising, rich user experience though data enrichment, etc. The different applications may be hosted on the cloud, where shared data and the cloud service provider provide computing resources to those applications to provide seamless data sharing. There may be a large number of sharing agreements among the data sources, who provide the data, and the consumers, who pay for the data. Each of these agreements may be described as a sharing plan. In this setting, executing a sharing plan incurs a cost due to the use of infrastructure resources, which is paid by the provider. Also, a consumer may require a certain level of data freshness, which is described as a service level agreement (SLA). As such, providers seek to find sharing plans that minimize cost while satisfying consumer SLAs.

SUMMARY

A method for data sharing includes generating at least one sharing plan with a cheapest cost and/or a shortest execution time for one or more sharing arrangements. Admissibility of the one or more sharing arrangements is determined such that a critical time path of the at least one sharing plan does not exceed a staleness level and a cost of the at least one sharing plan does not exceed a capacity. Sharing plans of admissible sharing arrangements are executed while maintaining the staleness level.

A system for data sharing includes a generation module configured to generate at least one sharing plan with a cheapest cost and/or a shortest execution time for one or more sharing arrangements. The generation module is further configured to determine admissibility of the one or more sharing arrangements such that a critical time path of the at least one sharing plan does not exceed a staleness level and a cost of the at least one sharing plan does not exceed a capacity. A sharing executor module is configured to execute sharing plans of admissible sharing arrangements while maintaining the staleness level.

A method for data sharing includes merging sharing plans of admissible sharing arrangements to provide a merged sharing plan. A set of all possible plumbings is determined for the merged sharing plan. A plumbing with a maximum profit is iteratively applied to the merged sharing plan for each plumbing of the set such that a staleness level is maintained to provide an optimized sharing plan.

A system for data sharing includes a merging module configured to merge sharing plans of admissible sharing arrangements to provide a merged sharing plan. The merging module is further configured to determine a set of all possible plumbings for the merged sharing plan. The merging module is further configured to iteratively apply a plumbing with a maximum profit to the merged sharing plan for each plumbing of the set such that a staleness level is maintained to provide an optimized sharing plan.

These and other features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The disclosure will provide details in the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the following figures wherein:

FIG. 1A is a block/flow diagram showing a system/method of data sharing among multiple data sources and consumers in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 2A is a block/flow diagram showing a method for generation and optimization of data sharing among multiple data sources and consumers in accordance with one embodiment; and

FIG. 3A is a block/flow diagram showing a method for determining optimum combined plans among multiple sharing arrangements in accordance with one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In accordance with the present principles, systems and methods for the generation and optimization of data sharing among multiple data sources and consumers are provided. For each sharing arrangement in a set of sharing arrangements, a sharing plan with a cheapest dollar cost is generated. It is then determined whether that particular sharing arrangement is admissible. The sharing arrangement is admissible where a critical time path of the sharing plan with the cheapest dollar cost does not exceed a staleness level (e.g., service level agreement) and a cost of the sharing plan with the cheapest dollar cost does not exceed a capacity.

If the sharing arrangement for the sharing plan with the cheapest dollar cost is not admissible, a sharing plan with a smallest time path is generated. It is determined whether the sharing arrangement for the sharing plan with the smallest time path is admissible. If it is not admissible, the sharing arrangement is rejected. Sharing plans for admitted sharing arrangements may be provided to a sharing executor. Advantageously, multiple sharing plans may be executed simultaneously.

In one embodiment, the sharing plans for admitted sharing arrangements may be optimized before being provided to the sharing executor. The sharing plans are first merged to create a merged sharing plan. A set of all possible plumbings that may be performed on the merged sharing plan is determined. The plumbing in the set with the maximum profit is iteratively applied to the merged sharing plan for each plumbing in the set. The optimized sharing plan may be provided to the sharing executor.

Embodiments described herein may be entirely hardware, entirely software or including both hardware and software elements. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is implemented in software, which includes but is not limited to firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.

Embodiments may include a computer program product accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable medium providing program code for use by or in connection with a computer or any instruction execution system. A computer-usable or computer readable medium may include any apparatus that stores, communicates, propagates, or transports the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The medium can be magnetic, optical, electronic, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system (or apparatus or device) or a propagation medium. The medium may include a computer-readable storage medium such as a semiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magnetic disk and an optical disk, etc.

A data processing system suitable for storing and/or executing program code may include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectly to memory elements through a system bus. The memory elements can include local memory employed during actual execution of the program code, bulk storage, and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at least some program code to reduce the number of times code is retrieved from bulk storage during execution. Input/output or I/O devices (including but not limited to keyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc.) may be coupled to the system either directly or through intervening I/O controllers.

Network adapters may also be coupled to the system to enable the data processing system to become coupled to other data processing systems or remote printers or storage devices through intervening private or public networks. Modems, cable modem and Ethernet cards are just a few of the currently available types of network adapters.

Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals represent the same or similar elements and initially to FIG. 1A, a block/flow diagram showing a system for data sharing among multiple data sources and consumers 100 is illustratively depicted in accordance with one embodiment. The data sharing system 102 preferably includes one or more processors 106 and memory 104 for storing programs and applications. It should be understood that the functions and components of the system 102 may be integrated into one or more systems.

The system 102 may include a display 108 for viewing. The display 108 may also permit a user to interact with the system 102 and its components and functions. This may be further facilitated by a user interface 110, which may include a keyboard, mouse, joystick, or any other peripheral or control to permit user interaction with the system 102.

Data sharing system 102 receives input 120, which includes a set of sharing arrangements 122. Memory 104 includes sharing optimizer module 112, which includes generation module 114. For each sharing arrangement of the set of sharing arrangements 122, the generation module 114 is configured to generate several different sharing plans that implement the sharing arrangement. The goal of the sharing optimizer module 112 is to produce a sharing plan that is admissible, has a low cost to setup, and can be maintained by the system at the desired level of staleness. Sharing plans are preferably expressed in terms of vertices and edges forming a directed acyclic graph (DAG).

For each sharing arrangement in a set of sharing arrangements 122, the generation module 114 is configured to generate a sharing plan with the cheapest dollar cost. The cost of a sharing plan, expressed in dollars per second, is computed as the amount of machine, network, and disk capacity consumed per second to keep the sharing arrangement at the desired staleness level. The cost may be expressed as the sum of a static cost, which represents an initial investment to set up derived relations, and a dynamic cost, which represents the expense incurred to move tuples through the edges of a sharing plan. The static cost of a sharing plan is converted to dollars per second by dividing each cost component (e.g., machine, network, disk, etc.) by a recoup constant (e.g. per hour, per month, per gigabyte, etc.). The dynamic cost is computed in terms of the number of tuples stored, moved across the network and the machine capacity consumed in generating and moving the tuples per second through the edges in the sharing plan.

The generation module 114 then determines whether the sharing arrangement for the sharing plan with the cheapest dollar cost is admissible. The admissibility forms a hard constraint in that the sharing generation module 114 should not admit a sharing arrangement that cannot be handled by the system 102. Thus, sharing plans that have a critical time path greater than the staleness cannot be maintained by the system 102 at the desired staleness level and are therefore not admissible. The critical time path represents the longest path in terms of time taken to push tuples from source vertices of the sharing plan to the destination vertex. Similarly, if a sharing plan exceeds the capacity of a machine by virtue of placing too many vertices and edge on it, it is also not admissible.

If the sharing arrangement for the sharing plan with the cheapest dollar cost is admissible, the generation module 114 moves on to the next sharing arrangement in the set of sharing arrangements 122. If the sharing plan with the cheapest dollar cost is not admissible, the generation module 114 generates a sharing plan with the smallest time path for that sharing arrangement. In some embodiments, a user may choose whether to generate a sharing plan with a cheapest dollar cost or a sharing plan with the smallest time path. The smallest time path is determined based on the critical time path.

If the sharing arrangement for the sharing plan with the smallest time path is admissible, then the generation module 114 moves on to the next sharing arrangement in the set of sharing arrangements 122. If the sharing arrangement for the sharing plan with the smallest time path is not admissible, the sharing arrangement is rejected and the generation module 114 moves on to the next sharing arrangement of the set 122. Rejected sharing arrangements may involve further negotiation with the consumer. The generation module 114 thus provides sharing plans for admitted sharing arrangements.

In one embodiment, sharing optimizer module 112 may also include merging module 116 configured to merge the set of sharing plans after admittance by taking advantage of the commonalities between sharing arrangements. Merging module 116 merges the sharing plans to create a single sharing plan D. A set V of all possible plumbings that can be performed in D is determined. A plumbing generally refers to the action of providing an alternate yet identical input to an operator using a mechanism that is different from the one currently providing input to it. More specifically, a plumbing determines commonalities between two or more sharing plans and merges the two or more sharing plans, discarding all operators from one or more of the sharing plans prior to the commonality.

The plumbing operation in V that provides the maximum profit (i.e., maximum benefit-cost) while not violating the staleness SLA of any of the sharing arrangements is performed on the sharing plan D. When no more plumbing operations in the set V can be applied to D, the sharing plan is forwarded to the sharing executor module 118. Advantageously, the merging module 116 iteratively optimizes the commonalities to find a global optimum cost with combined sharing plans.

Memory 104 also includes sharing executor module 118. For the set S of sharing arrangements and the sharing plan D produced by the merging module 116, the sharing executor module 118 executes D in the most efficient manner to maximize profit (by reducing operating cost) for the provider, while maintaining the desired staleness level. The present principles provide low cost of delivering data sharing services for the service providers and SLA guarantees for customers.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, a block/flow diagram showing a method for generation and optimization of data sharing among multiple data sources and consumers 200 in accordance with one embodiment. In block 202, a set of sharing arrangements S is provided. In block 204, for each sharing arrangement in the set S, the sharing plan with the cheapest dollar cost is generated in block 206. The cost may include the amount of machine, network, and disk capacity consumed per second to maintain the sharing arrangement at the desired staleness level.

In block 208, it is determined whether the sharing arrangement for the sharing plan with the cheapest dollar cost is admissible. A sharing arrangement is admissible if, e.g., the cost of its sharing plan does not exceed the capacity of the machine (e.g., cost is not ∞) and the critical time of the sharing plan does not exceed the desired staleness level. The critical time represents the longest path in terms of time taken to push tuples from source vertices of the sharing plan to the destination vertex. Other admissibility constraints are also contemplated. If the sharing arrangement for the sharing plan with the cheapest dollar cost is admissible, the method moves on to the next sharing arrangement in S in block 202.

If the sharing arrangement for the sharing plan with the cheapest dollar cost is not admissible, in block 212, the sharing plan with the smallest time path is generated for the sharing arrangement. The smallest time path is preferably determined based on the critical time path. In block 124, it is determined whether the sharing arrangement for the sharing plan with the smallest time path is admissible. If the sharing arrangement for the sharing plan with the smallest time path is admissible, the method moves on to the next sharing arrangement in S in block 202. If the sharing arrangement for the sharing plan with the smallest time path is not admissible, in block 216, the sharing arrangement is rejected and the method moves on to the next sharing arrangement in S. In some embodiments, a user may choose whether to generate a sharing plan with the cheapest dollar cost or a sharing plan with the smallest time path.

Once sharing plans for each sharing arrangement in S has been generated, in block 210, the sharing plans for the admissible sharing arrangements are provided. In block 218, the sharing plans are forwarded to the sharing executor. Preferably, the sharing executor simultaneously executes the sharing plans. In other embodiment, the sharing plans for the admissible sharing arrangements in block 210 are combined prior to be sent to the sharing executor, as will be discussed with respect to FIG. 3A.

Referring now to FIG. 3A, a block/flow diagram showing a method for determining optimum combined plans among multiple sharing arrangements 300 is illustratively depicted in accordance with one embodiment. In block 302, sharing plans for admissible sharing arrangements are provided. Sharing plans for admissible sharing arrangements may be generated as discussed with respect to FIG. 2A. Other methods of sharing plan generation are also contemplated. In block 304, the sharing plans for admissible sharing arrangements are merged to create a single sharing plan D. In block 306, a set V of all possible plumbings that can be performed in D is computed. Plumbings combine vertices belonging to different sharing arrangements so that rather than retaining two separate sets of vertices and edges, a merged set is provided. Plumbings may include, e.g., copy plumbing and join plumbing. Other types of plumbings are also contemplated.

In block 308, it is determined whether the set of possible plumbings V is empty. If the set V is not empty, in block 310, the plumbing in V with the maximum profit is performed (e.g., maximum benefit-cost). In block 312, the plumbing is performed in the merged sharing plan D. In block 314, D is appropriately fixed by merging the commonality and discarding operators of one or more sharing plans. The method then returns to block 306 until the set of all possible plumbings V is empty in block 308.

Once the set of all possible plumbings V is empty, the sharing plan is forwarded to the sharing executor in block 316. Advantageously, the present principles iteratively optimize the defined commonalities to find a global optimum cost with combined sharing plans.

Having described preferred embodiments of a system and method for finding optimum combined plans among multiple sharing arrangements and multiple data sources and consumers (which are intended to be illustrative and not limiting), it is noted that modifications and variations can be made by persons skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that changes may be made in the particular embodiments disclosed which are within the scope of the invention as outlined by the appended claims. Additional information is provided in Appendix A to the application. Having thus described aspects of the invention, with the details and particularity required by the patent laws, what is claimed and desired protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for data sharing, comprising: merging sharing plans of admissible sharing arrangements to provide a merged sharing plan; determining a set of all possible plumbings for the merged sharing plan; and iteratively applying a plumbing with a maximum profit, using a processor, to the merged sharing plan for each plumbing of the set such that a staleness level is maintained to provide an optimized sharing plan.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the maximum profit includes a maximum difference between a benefit and a cost.
 3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the sharing plans of admissible sharing arrangements include a critical time path that does not exceed a staleness level and a cost that does not exceed a capacity.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein merging sharing plans of admissible sharing arrangements includes identifying commonalities between sharing plans of admissible sharing arrangements.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein merging sharing plans of admissible sharing arrangements includes replacing vertices and edges performing similar operations of two or more different sharing plans with a common set.
 6. A system for data sharing, comprising: a merging module configured to merge sharing plans of admissible sharing arrangements to provide a merged sharing plan; the merging module further configured to determine a set of all possible plumbings for the merged sharing plan; and the merging module further configured to iteratively apply a plumbing with a maximum profit, using a processor, to the merged sharing plan for each plumbing of the set such that a staleness level is maintained to provide an optimized sharing plan.
 7. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the maximum profit includes a maximum difference between a benefit and a cost.
 8. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the sharing plans of admissible sharing arrangements include a critical time path that does not exceed a staleness level and a cost that does not exceed a capacity.
 9. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the merging module is further configured to identify commonalities between sharing plans of admissible sharing arrangements.
 10. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the merging module is further configured to replace vertices and edges performing similar operations of two or more different sharing plans with a common set. 